I remembered how much I loved Meet Me at Midnight and went back to reread it before starting this one. Zero regrets. It made diving into this story even better. The continuity and emotional payoff across both books? Chef’s kiss.

Leave Before I Love You had me from page one. Watching Avery, clever, slightly spoiled, and totally chaotic, grow from a wild party girl into someone actually dealing with her feelings and figuring her life out was surprisingly satisfying. And Henry? Literal perfection. He’s that rare mix of adrenaline junkie, charming smartass, and solid as a rock dependable. The chemistry between them? Unreal. Off the charts. Melt-your-Kindle level stuff.

Their time marooned together was the perfect setup. Equal parts hilarious, intense, and unexpectedly emotional. Every panic moment, every quiet moment, every bit of banter landed. I was fully invested, not just in their romance, but in both of their personal growth arcs. The way the story bounced between past and present made their connection feel deeper and more earned.

I laughed, I swooned, and remembered exactly why I always tell people to read Max Monroe when they need a hit of pure happiness. If you’re into slow burns with real heat, real heart, and just enough emotional chaos to keep it interesting, this one’s a no-brainer. Highly recommend.

Avery and Nick, her brothers best friend, have had a crush on each other for years, even though they'd never admit it. They are the only ones that haven't bailed on their New Years trip. Not long after their plane takes off the pilot dies and their plane starts to go down. They jump and parachute into the water and end up on a deserted island. As you can imagine things are hard, but they learn to rely on each other and finally admit to their feelings.

Trapped on an island with your secret, hot crush? Yes, please!! A great plot with a bit of "Castaway" theme/feel to it takes the adrenaline junkie and fashionista (opposites attract) from frenemies to lovers to in love! However, can their romance survive in the regular world? You'll have to read to find out! Fantastic and realistic characters wrapped in a fun plot makes this a must-read book for you, although I do recommend that you read the first book in the series before so you can get a bit more fun and enjoyment out of the series! You'll also get to know the characters much better as well as this book pics up after the first book, so you get to follow the original book characters along with the main characters in this addition to the series! I must say that I absolutely can't wait for the next book to come out as I am loving the fun that these characters have brought to my reading world!

Max Monroe is one of those authors- that for me, I can go in completely blind- no clue who the characters will be, not an idea of the trope or book blurb before I know that I need to read the book and that it will be amazing. This book is just further proof that these ladies simply create magic together.

Leave Before I Love You is the follow up book to Meet Me at Midnight, and while yes you can certainly enjoy Avery & Henry's story as a stand alone- having read Meet Me at Midnight beforehand will just make their story just that more powerful.

And all I can say is... THIS BOOK 😍 I loved the little moments that hinted at something between Henry and Avery in Midnight, and when I realized this book was about them I squealed wondering how the high maintenance trust fund princess and the adrenaline junkie were going to mesh in ways, you know, other than physically. This book completely delivered. We get a deeper look at Avery and beyond her life of the party facade that she hides behind as well as a more vulnerable look at Henry and his heartbreaking loneliness that he shields others from seeing- really highlighting how similar these two are in ways.

I felt ALL of the emotions while reading this book- the spark in the hate crush Avery had, the tease Henry used to goad her into joining him on the trip after all their friends cancelled only to then literally have my heart in my freaking throat with the adrenaline that this book evoked as these two find themselves in their own parallel of Cast Away with a sexier twist. Their fear, hope, desperateness in this situation where they depended on each other for survival had me in knots. It's in these moments that Henry and Avery forge a connection that is beyond soul deep- just adding to the bits and pieces of the history that already lived between them. Even when things take a spicy turn, it's more than just that primal hunger.

Things hit a few bumps for me when Henry and Avery return to "normal life"- Avery kind of went back to her spoiled, flighty persona and as much as I hate to say it Juni was driving me crazy. Henry definitely brought the swoon factor which made some of Avery and Juni's antics kind of fade into the background.

I couldn't love the path that this book took more- the sweet and tender moments, the joking jabs and everything that makes this friend group more like family. Now we just have to wait for the last two singles to find their HEA!!

3.75 ⭐️
After a dramatic (admittedly slightly far fetched!) start, spoilt party girl Avery and her brother’s best friend Henry, find themselves stranded on a deserted island. Along with flashbacks to previous encounters between the two of them in the past, island life starts to heat up!
Although this is a second book in a series, it can easily be read as a standalone.
I enjoyed the initial relationship between Avery and Henry and as their history is revealed through flashbacks, I liked how everything plays out for these two. A great light summer romance.
Thank you to Netgalley and Max Monroe for the arc for review.

This book went in a completely different direction than I expected right out the gate. I was pleasantly surprised (which doesn't happen often). It's the most extreme case of forced proximity I've read to date. It's adventurous. It's funny. It's sweet. And I love a strong-willed FMC.

Leave Before I Love You can be read as a standalone, but I really enjoyed reading about both main characters for a deeper understanding of their friendship/relationship dynamics in Meet Me At Midnight before jumping in feet first with Leave Before I Love You... (Literally). We really are just thrown into the story in the beginning to either sink or swim. The flashbacks are a cute way to get a better understanding of their relationship without deviating from the main storyline. I really enjoyed the trajectory of Avery and Henry's character development. They both showed strong personal growth throughout the book. If I had to choose one person to be my parachute partner, hands down, it would be Henry. He is a strong, sweet, loving MMC who loves adrenalin, adventures, and Avery.

I loved this book so much that I couldn't put it down and finished it in a day! It felt very fast-paced, and I enjoyed watching Avery get a little revenge on her brother Beau... Reading about Junipers pregnancy hormones made me feel like I had calm pregnancies in comparison!

As always, Max and Monroe found the perfect medium between funny and emotional. I always seem to find myself laughing and/or crying in the majority of their books!! I can't wait to read their upcoming books Call Me Anytime and The Fifteen-Minute Rule.

Thank you to Max Monroe and NetGalley for this ARC!!

Side note: Christina yang wishes she was so lucky 👟

This was such a fantastic follow up in the Midnight duet. Granted, you have to take most of these characters with an outlandish rich people grain of salt, but that’s why people watch Real Housewives isn’t it? Anyways! Avery and Henry get stranded and have to lean on each other and get to find out more about themselves and the other. It’s fun, it’s sexy, “it’s always been you”.

Best of all NO DREADED TROPES

Wow! Wow! Wow!

This book was everything! It gave me all the feels. I got teary eyed. I absolutely loved this story. Don’t want to spoil anything.

forced proximity
Brother’s best friend
Secrets
Temptation

I loved the way Avery’s character really showed in this book.

Read this asap!

Okay, wow. This book completely surprised me in the best way! Avery and Henry’s story was such a fun ride, but what really hooked me was how much character growth we got along the way. Avery starts off as this wild, carefree party girl, and watching her evolve into someone who faces her feelings (while still keeping her sass and spark) was honestly so satisfying.

And Henry? Ugh, swoon. The “brother’s best friend” trope always gets me, but the way it was twisted with their unique circumstances made this feel like a fresh, one-of-a-kind plot. I don’t think I’ve read anything quite like it before, which made it even harder to put down.

It’s equal parts funny, heartfelt, and steamy, basically, everything I want in a romance. If you’re into banter, forced proximity, and a couple who makes you laugh while breaking your heart a little, this one’s for you. 💕

I’ve read a handful of Max Monroe books before and usually find them enjoyable, though never quite favorites, since the characters often feel a bit underdeveloped. Unfortunately, Leave Before You Love Me was no exception.

The two main characters, Henry and Avery, read more like clichés than fully fleshed-out people. Avery is the spoiled daughter of a mega-rich father, while Henry is the daredevil who grew up without the grounding influence he needed. The story hinted that there was more depth beneath their surface-level portrayals, but I never truly got to see it play out. Avery showed a glimmer of dimension through her work with the women in the retirement village, but Henry’s supposed adrenaline-junkie side was barely touched on at all.

The pacing and timeline also strained believability. Married within two months of meeting? It felt rushed and unrealistic, even by romance standards. While the book was entertaining enough to keep me turning the pages, I ultimately came away feeling disappointed by what could have been a much richer story.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

I love Avery and Henry so much. Their love is so genuine and intense. An unexpected. and tragic circumstance lead to them being stranded for 2 weeks and not knowing if they will survive brings them closer than ever before. Henry is Averys brothers best friend which complicates things for them. There is funny banter, sadness, uncertainty, spice and more in this amazing book!

What an amazing adventure!

This is my first book by this author, but she's shot to the top of my favorites list with this fabulous story! Avery and Henry have a familiar but hands-off relationship -- he's her brother's best friend, and she's quite annoyingly self-centered and spoiled -- so it absolutely requires a desperate situation to get these two to move beyond their comfortable opinions of each other.

And wow, do we get that desperate situation in spades! A group vacation on a small resort island goes awry right from the start when everyone but Henry and Avery back out, then the unthinkable happens and they're stranded on an unknown island, Castaway-style, with not much but the clothes on their backs. Now having to work together and trust each other with their very lives, all the niceties of polite friendliness are stripped away and their true selves are unabashedly on full display. This raw emotional vulnerability was amazingly well-written, securely cementing the foundation of their relationship before their eventual rescue.

After that, the challenge is keeping the island magic alive while getting back to their normal lives. Amid all the self-reflection and newfound self-respect, Avery and Henry focus on what they've learned about each other and about themselves. And there are still more secrets to be discovered as they figure out a future together.

I haven't read the first book (Avery's brother's story) so I came into this one without any ideas of who Avery was, but clearly she's in need of a bit of humbling, and I adore the way that Henry shows his steadfast support regardless. He truly accepts her for who she is, choosing to highlight her mostly hidden generous side over her more public and polished side. Their HEA is as unique and joy-filled as ever I've read, and it's exquisite and perfect for them.

This whole book was a non-stop, immersive read for me and I'm now adding as many Max Monroe books to my TBR as I can. Highly recommended for anyone who loves contemporary rom-coms with a lot of heart.

I was all in on Avery and Henry’s story. Their banter is absolutely top-tier—like a masterclass in witty, flirty, and perfectly tense dialogue. You can practically feel the sparks!

Avery is the kind of heroine you want to both shake and hug. Her "hard pass" on anything resembling real feelings is a hilarious and surprisingly relatable defense mechanism, and it's a joy to watch her unravel. And Henry? Ugh, Henry Callahan. He’s the perfect blend of playful charm and quiet intensity.

The forced proximity plot is a classic for a reason, but this book uses it to its full potential. It’s not just about them being stuck together; it's about the way they're forced to face their own messy truths—and each other. The whole thing is a fantastic slow burn with just the right amount of sizzle. If you’re a fan of enemies-to-lovers with a side of hilarious chaos and a whole lot of heart, you absolutely need to listen to this one. Just be prepared to fall a little bit in love yourself.

Thank you to Dreamscape Media and Max Monroe for the ALC!

3.5 stars.

"Leave Before I Love You" by Max Monroe is a brother's best friend, forced proximity, enemies-to-lovers-ish, "it's always been you" rom-com featuring a desert island deserting, an eventual secret relationship, tons of snappy, witty banter, and lots of spice. Main characters Avery and Henry get stranded on a deserted island when they are forced to jump out of a plane and skydive into nothingness to save themselves after a tragedy strikes. Avery is a rich princess who thinks work is optional on the outside, but she harbors a secret self, one Henry has always been able to notice because he has been in love with her forever, even when he denied it. Henry is basically the embodiment of a TikTok log-cutting thirst trapper. He is willing to do anything he can to save them from certain death while they are stranded. When they are rescued after almost 2 weeks, reality infiltrates the little bubble they have created for themselves, and they have to learn how to exist together in the real world. Can they make it work? There is a lot to like about this book. The characters have hidden depths to them and are intriguing, even when they are acting spoiled or privileged. And man, Max Monroe does a stellar job of making Avery seem *so* privileged. I've never read a book that discusses designer brands quite as much as this one does. The layers of each character begin to peel away as they slowly accept each other into their lives, revealing the true depths below. I adored Henry so, so much. He has had a lot of tragedy in his life recently, and he comes across as so genuine and endearing. I loved the banter between them as characters. I think this book it a liiiiittle bit too long, though, which is my only complaint. There are a few repetitive moments here and there. Luckily, audiobook narrators Will Damron and M.K. Blackwood do an excellent job bringing these characters to life in fun, attention-grabbing ways. I enjoyed this for the most part!

Thank you to NetGalley, Max Monroe, and Dreamscape Media for the complimentary ALC of this book. All opinions are my own. I was not compensated for this review.

Leave Before I Love You is a standalone Romantic Comedy from my favorite rom-com writing duo and it was such a fun and quick read, I loved Avery and Henry’s story!

When all their friends back out of a trip, Avery and Henry, her brother’s best friend, decide to go alone, but it soon turns into a fight for survival when they need to jump out of the plane with parachutes before the plane crashes and they get stranded on a deserted island. While waiting for a rescue their feelings, both old and new, come to the light and they need to decide whether they want to give a relationship a try and what happens when they go back to their lives.

This book was so much fun from the very beginning and there wasn’t a single boring moment, I loved this unique take on the forced proximity trope and it was written so well. Avery and Henry were amazing as the main characters, she was seemingly a spoiled, rich girl but turned out to be so much more and I loved her personality, she was a true fish out of water on the island but didn’t break down and managed to survive really well. Henry was just a perfect MMC, the way he took care of them both on the island and later supported Avery and was rooting for her was amazing, they might have seem like polar opposites at times but were absolutely perfect for each other and I loved seeing them fall in love, they had such a good chemistry from the very beginning and there was so much tension, I loved seeing the quick glimpses into their pasts that made me see they were a long time coming and it was great to see them finally give in to their feelings, I loved them together so much. It was also great to see June and Beau again, I missed them and loved seeing this glimpse into their future.

Leave Before I Love You is an amazing rom-com that I really recommend to everyone and if you haven’t read other books from these authors you’re definitely missing out, they are all so good and I already can’t wait for the next one!

Henry and Avery In book 1, Meet Me at Midnight, the story centers around Beau and Juniper. The love connection amongst friends continues, as Henry and Beau are best friends, Avery and Juniper are best friends, and Avery and Beau are sister/brother. There may be spoilers if you haven’t read book 1.

The group of friends have planned a vacation together, but people are dropping like flies. Beau and June have a life event to worry about, then the guys drop out, and the two remaining are Henry and Avery. The two have been friends for a long time but maybe there is something more.

Avery was born with a silver spoon and this vacation will challenge her in ways she never saw coming. It’s a challenge for Henry as well, being with Avery like this, one on one. But it’s not only the vacation..when all is said and done, now what? How will life continue after what they’ve been through? Both of them are different people now and neither knows how the other feels.

Oh Henry..such a sweet guy. I think everyone is going to love him. Avery is definitely a character. She’s always had everything handed to her so when the opportunity presents itself for her to do something, be something more, what will her choice be? Despite the situation the two were put in while on vacation, both characters will learn, and grow, and be better for it. This is such a sweet story, and of course we get the witty banter we all love. Definitely worth a read. Thanks to Max Monroe and NetGalley for the book!

“We have to leave before I love you.”

Avery Banks is about to leave for a New Years vacation with her best friend, brother and his friends. However when she arrives at the flight hanger she discovers it will just be her and her brother’s best friend, Henry Callahan. The two are instantly arguing but what happens next is nothing anyone could predict.

“Just me and Henry freaking Callahan for three whole days?”

Avery and Henry have some extreme forced proximity in this book which really makes them reevaluate what they thought they always knew about each other. But as time goes on, they realize they never really knew the other until it was nothing but just the two of them.

“Quite frankly, Avery Banks and Henry Callahan has been a hell of a long time coming.”

This was such a fun story and very unexpected. I loved seeing Beau and June again from Meet Me at Midnight as well!

🔥: “If I’m going to have you, I’m going to taste you,”

I liked it, but definitely didn’t love it. The plot was a bit too far-fetched for me. Beyond that though, I found Avery to be so obnoxious. Between all of the name dropping of brands (we get it, she’s rich), not doing anything at her job at her family’s company, to simply walking into a random OBGYN’s office and demanding to be seen immediately just because she thought she was pregnant (anyone heard of a OTC pregnancy test?) — I was so over her halfway through the book.

Thank you NetGalley and Max Monroe for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was surprised to realize this was Avery (sister and best friend to our main characters in Meet Me At Midnight). Somehow I missed that and was excited when I figured it out. This could be a standalone but I recommend reading Meet Me At Midnight first.

Henry is a dream and such a great human. Avery…Well, Avery was set up to be this spoiled rich girl who has no ambition, skill or sense. There’s more to her, but it wasn’t far enough in my opinion. I wish there was more growth than her realizing her 100 step nightly face regimen was not needed every night.

As much as I wish there was a bit more to Avery, I still couldn’t put this down and thought it was fun (even if I was rolling my eyes at times). The banter was pretty great and forced proximity cannot get anymore forced than stranded on an island together!

Leave Before I Love You by Max Monroe delivers exactly what fans know and adore—the razor-sharp banter, unforgettable characters, and a “forced proximity” scenario that ignites chemistry from the first moment.

Avery Banks, the rich party girl, has long harbored a crush on her brother’s adrenaline-fueled best friend, Henry Callahan—the kind of guy who’s charming, chaotic, and just dangerous enough to make your heart race. When a group vacation arranged through family connections spirals into disaster, Avery and Henry are stranded together—quintessential slow-burn territory.

A failed skydive into the Bahamas turns into a survival situation after the pilot suffers a fatal stroke. Now, thrown together in a remote island setting, Avery and Henry must forage, problem-solve, and depend on each other every step of the way. It's the perfect pressure cooker for building intimacy, with just enough time on the island to feel authentic, but not so long that the pace drags.

At first, the plot caught me off guard—but as their dynamic unfolds, the romance becomes undeniably compelling. Watching their passion grow in that confined environment—and then continue to sizzle after they’re rescued—is beautifully handled.

This chaotic love story between Henry Callahan and Avery Banks is super cute with a solid dose of spice and wit. While Meet Me at Midnight remains my top favorite, I absolutely loved the shared universe connection—one of my favorite things authors do.

Leave Before I Love You is a delightful, tension-fueled romance, brimming with humor, heat, and heart. If you enjoy witty banter, slow-burn chemistry, and the thrill of a survival scenario intertwined with romance—this book delivers. I loved revisiting the Meet Me at Midnight world through new characters, and this story is a standout in its own right.